The Constitution Committee, which I chair, have been
appointed by the House of Lords "to examine the constitutional
implications of all public bills coming before the House; and
to keep under review the operation of the constitution".
We set out our approach to this task in chapter 3 of our first
Report (Session 2001-02, HL Paper 11).

The Committee have agreed that the draft Communications
Bill raises no important question of principle about a principal
part of the constitution. I should note that our terms of reference
will however oblige us to examine any such Bill on introduction
to the House.

Our current inquiry is into the working of devolution
within the United Kingdom. We have received evidence to the effect
that United Kingdom non-departmental public bodies since devolution
have been losing direct Scottish and Welsh representation. You
may wish to consider whether the responsibility for sub-state
cultural diversity should be provided for by direct representation
on the board of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) or by specifically
charging Ofcom with the responsibility. This is an issue outside
the call for evidence of our current inquiry.